It's the heat -- and the humidity

Connecticut Post

Staff reports

Updated 11:32 pm, Tuesday, September 2, 2014

As storm clouds form in the sky above her, Lisa Day of Ossing, N.Y., casts her fishing rod into Long Island Sound at the end of Steamboat Road in Greenwich, Conn., Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2014. Day said the shore breeze was making the hot and humid weather bearable but said she had yet to catch any fish "maybe they went to cooler waters." The National Weather Service is forecasting another sunny 85 degree day for Greenwich on Wednesday.
Photo: Bob Luckey

Cumulus clouds form over the mansion at the tip of Indian Harbor Point in Greenwich, Conn., Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2014. The National Weather Service is forecasting another sunny 85 degree day for Greenwich on Wednesday.
Photo: Bob Luckey

84 degrees reads the temperature on the Splash Car Wash sign on West Putnam Avenue in Greenwich, Conn., Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2014. The National Weather Service is forecasting another sunny 85 degree day for Greenwich on Wednesday.
Photo: Bob Luckey

"Somebody must have tipped off Mother Nature that we were going to be paving today," says Boot Cowan Tuesday afternoon. Cowan is part of a Danbury Highway crew that is paving roads Tuesday in the area of Terre Haute Road and Darthmouth Lane in Danbury, Conn. Tuesday could go on record as one of the hottest days of the year.
Photo: Carol Kaliff

Boot Cowan left and Paul Barriere, are part of a crew with the Danbury Highway Department paving roads Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2014, in the area of Terre Haute and Darthmoth Lane in Danbury, Conn. Barriere says, " You do this work so long you get used to it ...but I can't wait to get home and into central air."
Photo: Carol Kaliff

Adam Howard, a freshman member of the tennis team at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, Conn., tries to keep cool as he practices his game at the Westside campus on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2014. The combination of high temperatures and high humidity pushed uncomfortable heat indexes into the upper 90s.
Photo: Cathy Zuraw

Workers hydrate as they repair the roof at the O'Neill Center at Western Connecticut State University Westside campus in Danbury, Conn. on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2014. High humidity made for an uncomfortable start to September.
Photo: Cathy Zuraw

Shauna Murray soaks up the sun's rays on her day off Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2014 at Woodway Country Club. Murray, who lives in Ireland, is working at the country club for the summer. Temperatures on Tuesday could be the hottest for the year with sizzling temps and high humidity pushing the heat indexes into the upper 90s.
Photo: Autumn Driscoll

By 3 p.m., the temperature reached 90 in Bridgeport, marking only the second time this summer it got that hot around here. The combination of sizzling temperatures and high humidity pushed the heat index -- what it really feels like -- to 96.

In Milford, administrators ordered an early dismissal at Foran High School because its air-conditioning malfunctioned. To make matters worse, the school's windows are not designed to open. According to NBC Connecticut, Foran will remain closed Wednesday while the A/C is repaired.

Stratford High School also dismissed early on Tuesday, at 12:30 p.m., due to the swelter, according to the school's website.

The National Weather Service also issued an air quality alert, after ground ozone reached unhealthy levels. With the heat comes increased risk for a variety of illnesses, including heat stroke, which results from lengthy exposure to high temperatures, usually coupled with dehydration.

The hospital braced for a busy day Tuesday, due to the heat and a usual bump in activity that comes after a holiday weekend. The hospital increased its emergency department staff by 10 percent in anticipation, Ferrigno said.

He said the hospital has seen fewer hot-weather problems than normal this summer, because it's been relatively cool. But this week's expected high temps could change that.

"My biggest tip is to find a place that's cool," Ferrigno said.

So how does this summer stack up against others?

There have been no extreme variations in temperatures, and rainfall has been slightly below average.

What is unusual about this summer's weather is the lack of prolonged and progressive heat waves.

Summer officially ends Sept. 22, but the National Weather Service's "meteorological summer" runs from June 1 through Aug. 31.

What do the weather service's preliminary stats say about the season?

While precipitation was variable across the area, totals in southwestern Connecticut averaged 1.45 inches below the normal 11.03-inch rainfall from June through August.

Before Tuesday, there had been only one 90-degree day this summer in Bridgeport and Danbury, on July 8.

Lessor said the reason for the season's enjoyable temperatures was the polar vortex -- which had everyone grumbling a few months ago.

"The polar vortex from last winter brought a lot of cold air, including an upper-level trough," he said. "It suppressed the humidity in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast to the South."

The trough is now gone, and humidity will continue to mingle with higher-than-normal temperatures during September, October and November, according to Lessor.

"Humidity can vastly change the opinion of how warm a day like (Tuesday) is," he said.

At the bus terminal in downtown Bridgeport, people took comfort in the air-conditioning Tuesday afternoon. The city uses the terminal as a cooling station on extremely hot days.

Outside, people resorted to a variety of methods to stay cool -- some hid in the shade, others wore dampened clothes.

"I was walking home from work and it was hot," said Ray Perez, 31, as he stood in jeans and a tank-top undershirt, with his T-shirt slung over his shoulder. "Summer came a little late, I wish there were a little more hot weather."

For those like Perez, there's always next year -- which is not expected to be as cool.

"It's highly unlikely we will have as few 90-degree days next summer in Connecticut," Lessor said.